Carnegie Investment Counsel Raises Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 116.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 229,530 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 123,261 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $16,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in CocaCola by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 39,094,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,592,732,000 after acquiring an additional 5,135,198 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in CocaCola by 343.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,486,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,518,000 after acquiring an additional 3,474,015 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in CocaCola in the 3rd quarter worth $226,443,000. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in CocaCola in the 3rd quarter worth $161,130,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in CocaCola by 288.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,025,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,519,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245,959 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sharp drop in short interest — Short interest fell ~14% to ~46.2M shares as of March 31, reducing the % of shares short to ~1.1% and lowering the days‑to‑cover to ~2.8; this reduces downside squeeze risk and can be supportive for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and bullish notes — Recent analyst activity includes at least one upgrade that pushed the stock up in recent sessions and UBS saying KO is likely to rise, which can lift investor sentiment. Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Brand and marketing push — Coca‑Cola launched the yearlong America250 campaign (state‑themed packaging, events, community programs) that aims to reinforce brand relevance and drive consumer engagement in the U.S. over 2026. America250 Campaign
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑term market moves and coverage pieces — Several market writeups note recent intraday gains and KO’s relative performance vs. peers; useful for context but not necessarily directional catalysts. Market Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst chatter on timing — Retail pieces discussing whether to buy ahead of upcoming dates create trading interest but are not company fundamentals. Investor Advice
• Negative Sentiment: BofA sees regional divergence; UCV below consensus — Bank of America expects Q1 underlying consumption volumes roughly flat to slightly down (-0.2% year‑over‑year), with strength in NA/EMEA offset by Asia weakness; this forecast is below Visible Alpha consensus and could pressure near‑term expectations. BofA Demand Note
• Negative Sentiment: Small earnings revision downward — Erste Group trimmed FY‑2026 EPS modestly (from $3.23 to $3.22), a minor downgrade but indicative of cautious analyst sentiment; could temper investor expectations. Erste Group Estimate Cut

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $88.00 target price on CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on CocaCola from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CocaCola from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.00.

CocaCola Price Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $77.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $65.35 and a 52 week high of $82.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $333.50 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $77.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.55.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. CocaCola had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 27.34%.The company had revenue of $11.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. CocaCola’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.210-3.240 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from CocaCola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is 69.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 72,449 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total transaction of $5,833,593.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 279,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,538,916.84. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 23,556 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total transaction of $1,872,702.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,754,735. The trade was a 9.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 892,925 shares of company stock worth $70,254,796. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About CocaCola

The Coca‑Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage manufacturer, marketer and distributor best known for its flagship Coca‑Cola soda. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company develops and sells concentrates, syrups and finished beverages across a broad portfolio of brands. Its product range spans sparkling soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready‑to‑drink teas and coffees, and other still beverages, marketed under both global and regional brand names.

Coca‑Cola’s brand portfolio includes widely recognized names such as Coca‑Cola, Diet Coke, Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Powerade and Dasani, and in recent years the company has expanded into the coffee and premium beverage categories through acquisitions such as Costa Coffee.